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A new method for optimising threshold values of dry/wet spells is evaluated. A set of indices is used to find the best threshold giving good correspondence between the frequency of dry/wet spells in Hadley Centre regional model (HadRM3) output, reference observations with predetermined thresholds, and area-averaged observations. The analyses focus on selected model gridboxes in 3 different Europea

Lathyrus vernus (L.) Bernh. is a diploid, long-lived perennial and insect-pollinated herb with no special adaptation to long-distance dispersal. It occurs on neutral soil in deciduous forests throughout western Eurasia. Due to specific habitat preferences, L. vernus has a fragmented distribution with isolated populations. We investigated allozyme variation at eleven loci in 20 populations of L. ve

With a surface wave method to estimate shear-wave velocity (Vs) from dispersion curve(s) of known mode(s), accurate modal identification is obviously a crucial issue. In this regard, the dispersion imaging method is an essential processing tool as it can unfold the multi-modal nature of surface waves through direct wavetield transformations. When a combined dispersion curve of an extended frequenc

Organochlorine contaminants (OCs) are known to affect the immune systems of wildlife, and in this study we assessed the relationship between blood concentration of different OCs and measurements relevant to immune status and function in arctic breeding glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus). In 1997 and 2001, we counted white blood cells (heterophils and lymphocytes) from blood smears, and in 2000 and

The fibrinolytic system (the plasminogen activating system) is involved in several physiological and pathological processes. Through the transformation of plasminogen to the aggressive broad spectrum protease plasmin, potent enzymatic activity is released. Plasmin acts directly on connective tissue components, and indirectly by activating proforms of the metalloproteinases. The destructive potenti

Background and Objectives: Hand eczema is a chronic disease with negative impact on quality of life (QoL). In this study, QoL in hand eczema patients is assessed and related to age, sex, severity, and diagnostic subgroups. Methods: A total of 416 patients with hand eczema from 10 European patch test clinics participated in the study. Data on QoL were obtained from a self-administered questionnaire

Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and with proliferative retinopathy often have a concomitant diabetic nephropathy. However, in cross-sectional studies it has been shown that 35% of patients with proliferative retinopathy do not show signs of diabetic nephropathy. The aim of the present study was to examine the incidence of diabetic nephropathy in type 1 diabetic patients with proliferative r

The two main sugars in the agricultural by-product corn stover are glucose and xylose. Co-fermentation of glucose and xylose at high content of water-insoluble solids (WIS) without detoxification is a prerequisite to obtain high ethanol concentration and to reduce production costs. A recombinant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, TMB3400, was used in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation

Urban water balances differ from their rural counterparts due to extreme spatial heterogeneity, water imported from outside catchment boundaries and changed flow paths (e.g., drainage pipes and impervious surfaces). Urban catchments are characterized by increased peak discharges and fast response times, each contributing to specific environmental problems. The water balances of towns in the northe

Reproductive success of territorial female mammals depends partly on their capability to defend their young from conspecific intruders. However, how this is related to the characteristics of females and their litter sizes is largely unknown. The defence activity of 25 female bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) in relation to the number of offspring was studied in a behavioural arena by manipulati

Background/Aims: The liver is a major target organ of graft versus host disease (GvHD) with massive infiltration of alloreactive lymphocytes resulting in hepatitis and hepatocyte injury. Although adhesive mechanisms have been implicated in the biology of GvHD hepatitis, the identity of homing receptors involved in the initial recruitment of cells from the blood is not known. Methods: We have devel

A property of algebraic dependence between two commuting elements is shown to hold in a more general setting than that in which it has previously been established. Key conditions are identified and some methods for establishing them are given. Moreover the class of algebras with a generalised Weyl structure, generalising the so-called Generalised Weyl Algebras (GWAs) or hyperbolic rings, is introd

Process parameter optimization for the supercritical CO2 extraction of rye bran to obtain alkylresorcinols (AR) was studied by carrying out a two-level fractional design experiment. Four parameters, temperature, CO2 flow rate, cosolvent percentage, and extraction time, presumed to influence the extraction process, were analyzed. A tentative fractionation of the crude extract was also carried out a

We study how the dimension of the invariant set of an interval map with a hole depends on the size of the hole. Under some assumptions on the map, it is shown that the derivative of the dimension with respect to the size of the hole is bounded and that the dimension is bounded away from zero.

We construct the first known complex-valued harmonic morphisms from the non-compact Lie groups View the MathML source, SU*(2n) and View the MathML source equipped with their standard Riemannian metrics. We then introduce the notion of a bi-eigenfamily and employ this to construct the first known solutions on the non-compact Riemannian SO*(2n), SO(p,q), SU(p,q) and Sp(p,q). Applying a duality princ